Court of Appeal hearing into Sizewell C set to begin
The decision to approve the new Sizewell C nuclear power station will come
under scrutiny tomorrow (Wednesday) when a legal hearing begins at the
Court of Appeal.
Campaigners opposed to the dual reactor development are
appealing against a High Court decision to refuse a judicial review into
then business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng’s decision to give the go-ahead for
the power station in July 2022.
The appeal relates to the issue of whether
a desalination plant will be needed to guarantee a permanent water supply
for the power station. Campaigners Together Against Sizewell C (TASC)
argued that the environmental impact of the plant was not included in the
planning application for the power station and therefore was neither
assessed nor taken into account when approval was given. However, Court of
Appeal Judge Lord Justice Coulson decided that TASC’s arguments for the
desalination plant should be looked at again.
East Anglian Daily Times 31st Oct 2023
https://www.eadt.co.uk/news/23890892.court-appeal-hearing-sizewell-c-set-begin/
Court of Appeal hearings on Sizewell C will start at 2pm today (1st
November) and continue on Thursday at 10am. You can follow the proceedings
live on You Tube.
Court of Appeal 1st Nov 2023
https://www.youtube.com/@courtofappeal-civildivisio3851/streams
#nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, to investigate allegations that NuScale may have issued misleading business information
Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces an
investigation of potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of
NuScale Power Corporation resulting from allegations that NuScale may have
issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.
Rosen Law Firm (accessed) 29th Oct 2023 https://rosenlegal.com/case/nuscale-power-corporation/
Lawyers circle nuclear startup NuScale over claims a 24-reactor deal will fail
Short seller brands blockchain firm Standard Power a “fake customer”
October 27, 2023 By Peter Judge https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/lawyers-circle-nuclear-startup-nuscale-over-claims-a-24-reactor-deal-will-fail/
Nuclear power startup NuScale is facing investigation by lawyers after a short-seller’s report alleged that it has sold 24 reactors to a “fake customer.”
NuScale announced a deal earlier this month to supply blockchain firm Standard Power with 1,848MW of power provided by 24 of NuScale’s small modular reactors (SMRs), to power two US data center sites.
Last week its share price dropped around 10 percent after a scathing report from short seller Iceberg Research claimed that the deal, estimated at $37 billion, had “zero chance of being executed.” The shares bounced back around six percent earlier this week, when NuScale responded, saying the Iceberg claims were “riddled with speculative statements with no basis in fact.”
NuScale has contracted to provide Standard Power with 1,848MW of power, but Iceberg predicts Standard Power will be unable to support the contract. Among other things, Iceberg points out that Standard Power’s CEO Maxim Serezhin has an outstanding $54k tax warrant in New York, rendering his assets vulnerable to seizure, adding that a former Standard Power leader, Adam Swickle, was found guilty of securities fraud in 2003.
The Standard Power deal is massively bigger than NuScale’s only other contract, with the government-backed Carbon Free Power Project (“CFPP”) to provide Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems (“UAMPS”) with 462MW, and is also bigger than Standard Power’s other major deal, a 200MW contract for nuclear power at Shippingport Pennsylvania.
Iceberg says NuScale has “around 15 months before its cash runs out,” and says the UAMPS contract is reaching a crucial stage, claiming: “NuScale has been given till around January 2024 to raise project commitments to 80 percent or 370 MWe.”
Iceberg also cast doubt on NuScale’s commercial partner Entra1, saying it was set up in 2021 to finance NuScale reactors, has only one employee, and was “very unlikely to be able to finance even a portion of this contract.”
NuScale said it “will not engage in a point-by-point rebuttal of every falsehood,” but issued statements on several points, saying that NuScale has a “solid balance sheet,” and that US Department of Energy (DOE) support for the CFPP “has advanced our SMR technology to the point of commercialization.”
DOE support has been a key factor in NuScale’s development, helping it bring nuclear power down to a commercial price point, however, the price of nuclear electricity from its projected plans has been creeping up, from an initial estimate of $55 per MWh to around $90 per MWh, making it less competitive.
NuScale said it “will not engage in a point-by-point rebuttal of every falsehood,” but issued statements on several points, saying that NuScale has a “solid balance sheet,” and that US Department of Energy (DOE) support for the CFPP “has advanced our SMR technology to the point of commercialization.”
Iceberg suggests that it may not be able to fully deliver without further support from the US government, which it says will “dilute” shareholder value. NuScale went public with a SPAC in May 2022.
Lawyers investigated NuScale on behalf of investors over “possible violations of federal securities laws,” include Howard G. Smith, which issued a press release this week, and Rosen Law Firm, which is planning a class action lawsuit. These releases are classed as “attorney advertising.”
Overall shares in NuScale have fallen around 75 percent since their peak in late 2022, from around $14 to around $3.5.
Rights Lawyers Release Legal Analysis of U.S. Complicity in Israel’s Unfolding Genocide Against Palestinians in Gaza
By Center for Constitutional Rights
October 18, 2023, Geneva, Switzerland – On the heels of President Biden’s visit to Israel and as the Palestinian death toll in Gaza passes 3,300, expert attorneys from the U.S.-based Center for Constitutional Rights released a legal and factual analysis of Israel’s unfolding crime of genocide against the Palestinian people and U.S. complicity in this grave international law violation. The emergency briefing paper comes soon after the U.S veto of a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning both Hamas’s attack on Israel and all violence against civilians and calling for humanitarian access to Gaza. It also comes as President Biden seeks to secure additional, unconditional military support for Israel.
According to the emergency briefing paper, there is a credible case, based on powerful evidence, that Israel is attempting to commit or committing genocide in the occupied Palestinian territory, and specifically against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. The United States has a duty under Article 1 of the 1948 Genocide Convention to prevent acts of genocide, an obligation that has been domestically implemented through U.S. criminal law. The legal and factual analysis provided by the Center for Constitutional Rights describes how, through its ongoing unconditional military, diplomatic, and political support to Israel, the United States is not only failing to prevent genocide, but is complicit. Under international law, the United States – and responsible U.S. citizens, including and up to the President – can be held accountable for their role in furthering genocide.
According to the International Court of Justice, “a State’s obligation to prevent [genocide], and the corresponding duty to act, arise at the instant that the State learns of, or should normally have learned of, the existence of a serious risk that genocide will be committed.” States are required to take all measures “reasonably available to them” to prevent this risk from that moment onward, “if the State has available to it means likely to have a deterrent effect on those suspected of preparing genocide, or reasonably suspected of harbouring specific intent.”
As scholars and observers increasingly warn of genocide, and as protestors rise up against Israel’s gravest atrocities against Palestinians since 1948, the Center for Consitutional Rights has been asked by Palestinian partners on the ground to offer this analysis as we strengthen our collective efforts towards accountability and freedom. The emergency briefing paper calls on the United States to take all necessary measures to secure a ceasefire, pressure Israel to end all military operations, end all U.S. military aid to Israel, and ensure the provision to Palestinians in Gaza of urgently needed basic necessities for life. The experts also stress in the briefing paper the urgent need to address the root causes of the current catastrophe, especially the 16-year closure of Gaza, the 56-year illegal occupation, and the apartheid regime across all of historic Palestine.
The emergency briefing paper will be submitted to national and international stakeholders, including the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect, and the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. It will also be sent to President Biden, Secretary Blinken, and other U.S. officials and relevant agencies. Read the emergency legal briefing paper here. For more information, see our resource page. #USA #Israel #Palestine
US Government & NewsGuard Sued by Consortium News
October 23, 2023 https://consortiumnews.com/2023/10/23/us-government-newsguard-sued-by-consortium-news/
The suit accuses NewsGuard of defaming Consortium News and the U.S. government of acting in concert with NewsGuard to violate the First Amendment.
US & NewsGuard Sued for 1st Amendment Violations, Defamation in NY Federal Court
Court Papers: Media ‘Watchdog’ Joined With US Intelligence to Suppress Foreign Policy Dissent
By Consortium News
The United States government and internet “watchdog” NewsGuard Technologies, Inc. were sued today in federal court in Manhattan for First Amendment violations and defamation by news organization Consortium for Independent Journalism, a nonprofit that publishes Consortium News.
Consortium News‘s court filing charges the Pentagon’s Cyber Command, an element of the Intelligence Community, with contracting with NewsGuard to identify, report and abridge the speech of American media organizations that dissent from U.S. official positions on foreign policy.
In the course of its contract with the Pentagon, NewsGuard is “acting jointly or in concert with the United States to coerce news organizations to alter viewpoints” as to Ukraine, Russia, and Syria, imposing a form of “censorship and repression of views” that differ or dissent from policies of the United States and its allies, the complaint says.
Watch the press conference announcing the lawsuit on Monday:
Read the entire complaint and the exhibits.
“The First Amendment rights of all American media are threatened by this arrangement with the Defense Department to defame and abridge the speech of U.S. media groups,” said Bruce Afran, Consortium News‘s attorney.
“When media groups are condemned by the government as ‘anti-U.S.’ and are accused of publishing ‘false content’ because they disagree with U.S. policies, the result is self-censorship and a destruction of the public debate intended by the First Amendment,” Afran said.
NewsGuard uses its software to tag targeted news sites, including all 20,000+ Consortium News articles an videos published since 1995, with warnings to “proceed with caution,” telling NewsGuard subscribers that Consortium News produces “disinformation,” “false content” and is an “anti-U.S.” media organization, even though NewsGuard only took issue with a total of six CN articles and none of its videos.
The suit comes at a time when many in Congress and elsewhere have charged the U.S. government with using private entities and internet platforms as proxies to suppress free speech in violation of the First Amendment.
The complaint seeks a permanent injunction declaring the joint program unconstitutional; barring the government and NewsGuard from continuing such practices and more than $13 million in damages for defamation and civil rights violations.
St. Louis businessman charged with kickback scheme involving nuclear weapons parts
St Louis Post Dispatch, Katie Kull, Oct 19, 2023
ST. LOUIS — A local businessman is facing federal charges in Kansas after authorities say he sent kickbacks and bribes to an engineer at a nuclear weapons parts manufacturer in exchange for subcontracts.
Richard W. Mueller, 63, was indicted Wednesday on six federal charges, including wire fraud and lying to federal agents, after authorities said he paid Kansas engineer Michael Clinesmith more than $1 million in exchange for steering contracts to Mueller’s businesses over the course of a decade………………………………………………………………….. more https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-courts/st-louis-businessman-charged-with-kickback-scheme-involving-nuclear-weapons-parts/article_7a7fff2c-6eb7-11ee-a26a-3f5922548456.html #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
Two Men Plead Guilty to Falsifying Documents Related to Testing of Equipment at Nuclear Power Plants
Office of Public Affairs. Us Department of Justice 18 Oct 23
Two men pleaded guilty today for their roles in creating false calibration certificates in a matter within the jurisdiction of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
According to court documents, Miguel Marcial Amaro, 56, of Newark, Delaware, and Martin Ramos, 52, of Levittown, Pennsylvania, worked for a company that provided acoustic emissions (AE) testing to nuclear power plants to detect structural defects in the plant’s equipment. Following the testing, Marcial and Ramos helped create and transmit final testing reports to the owners of the plants which, among other things, contained calibration certificates for the equipment used.
Between 2010 and 2021, Marcial was responsible for ensuring that the company’s AE testing equipment was calibrated annually; Ramos worked under Marcial as an engineer. The two men created numerous false calibration certificates for AE testing equipment, and 15 of these false certificates were sent a total of 29 times to nuclear plant owners as part of final testing reports required by the NRC. The falsified calibration certificates were discovered in 2021 during an external audit.
Today, we hold defendants accountable for deliberately attempting to bypass testing protocols that are essential to keeping nuclear power plants safe,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). ………………………………………………………………. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-men-plead-guilty-falsifying-documents-related-testing-equipment-nuclear-power-plants #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclearfree #NoNukes
‘Humanity Must Prevail’ in Gaza, Says UN Official as Refugee Shelters Become IDF Targets
“Wars have rules,” said the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees. “Civilians, hospitals, schools, clinics, and UN premises cannot be a target.”
By Julia Conley / Common Dreams SCHEERPOST, October 15, 2023
The emergency relief coordinator for the United Nations on Saturday said that “humanity is failing” as officials in the United States and other powerful Western countries refused to hear the calls of a growing number of humanitarian groups, progressive lawmakers, and governments for a cease-fire in Gaza—allowing Israel to forge ahead with what will likely be an imminent ground assault on the blockaded enclave.
“The past week has been a test for humanity,” said Martin Griffiths one week after Hamas unleashed a brutal surprise attack on Israel, killing at least 1,300 people and taking scores of people hostage. As Israel’s response has targeted Gaza—home to two million people, about half of whom are children—repeated airstrikes have bombarded “homes, schools, shelters, health centers, and places of worship,” Griffith said, leaving at least 2,215 Palestinians dead, including more than 600 children.
“Entire residential neighborhoods have been razed to the ground,” added Griffiths, who serves as under secretary-general for humanitarian affairs at the United Nations. “Aid workers have been killed. The humanitarian situation in Gaza, already critical, is fast becoming untenable.”
Griffith’s comments came as the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) reported that the indiscriminate bombing campaign has placed its own shelters in “unprecedented” danger, making it impossible for workers to ensure the safety of some 270,000 peoplewho have been displaced and sought shelter at 102 schools run by the agency.
“Wars have rules. Civilians, hospitals, schools, clinics, and UN premises cannot be a target,” said the UNWRA said in a statement. “We are sparing no effort to advocate with parties to the conflicts to meet their obligations under international law to protect civilians including those seeking refuge in UNRWA shelters.”……………………………………………………………………………….. more https://scheerpost.com/2023/10/15/humanity-must-prevail-in-gaza-says-un-official-as-refugee-shelters-become-idf-targets/ #Israel #Palestine
New Mexico could try again to challenge nuclear waste storage project in court
Adrian Hedden, Carlsbad Current-Argus, 11 Oct 23
Officials with the State of New Mexico continued their fight against a proposed storage site for spent nuclear fuel in southeast New Mexico during a Tuesday hearing before lawmakers in Carlsbad, and said the project could be challenged a second time in federal court.
The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) and Office of the Attorney General voiced opposition to such a site during the discussion held at Southeast New Mexico College with the Legislature’s interim Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee.
Representatives of both agencies called into question the legality of such a site to store nuclear fuel away from a reactor amid the ranchlands and oilfields of the Permian Basin.
Holtec International applied to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a license to build the facility in 2017, and it was issued in May………………………………………
The State of New Mexico challenged in court the NRC’s findings in an environmental analysis ahead of the license, but the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the state could not object before it was issued.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, her cabinet secretaries and Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard all voiced their opposition to the Holtec project throughout the licensing process, citing risks to the local communities and industries like oil and gas and agriculture.
Bruce Baizel, director of compliance and enforcement with the NMED said the State could file another challenge to the license now that it is issued to Holtec.
He pointed to a federal court ruling earlier this year that vacated a license for a similar site issued by the NRC to Interim Storage Partners in Andrews, Texas, along the New Mexico border, which Baizel said could have legal implications for the New Mexico site.
Assistant Attorney General William Grantham said the Office of the Attorney General believed a federal court would vacate Holtec’s license, arguing federal law did not allow an interim storage site as proposed by Holtec without a permanent repository available.
Also going against the project, during the 2023 Legislative Session, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 53 to block state agencies from issuing any permits for any site storing high-level nuclear waste as Holtec’s would.
Baizel said the facility would require five such permits to operate.
“That language would not allow us to process or approve any of those state permits for that project,” he said.
Carlsbad mayor attacks lawmakers for not including nuclear industry voices
Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway, an ardent Holtec supporter, did not attend the hearing, citing an “imbalance” in the panels, particularly on nuclear storage, according to Rep. Cathrynn Brown (R-55) of Carlsbad……………………………………………………….
Camilla Feibelman, director of the Sierra Club’s Rio Grande Chapter said that if Holtec was allowed to operate its facility, New Mexico would take all the risks of the waste with no benefits like the jobs provided to states that do host nuclear power plants.
“Holtec wants to bring the entire store of nuclear waste by rail to southeast New Mexico through thousands of communities along the way,” she said. “Spent nuclear fuel should be stored at the site of origin in the safest manner possible.”
Committee Vice Chair Sen. Jeff Steinborn (D-36), who sponsored SB 53, said the “reality” was that it made Holtec’s project and others like it illegal in New Mexico.
“We have passed a law in New Mexico making it illegal to store high level nuclear waste in New Mexico,” Steinborn said. “That is the reality now. Only the courts could change that reality.”
https://www.currentargus.com/story/news/2023/10/11/new-mexico-could-challenge-nuclear-waste-holtec-international-storage-project-in-court/71121256007/–#nuclear #antinuclear #NuclearFree #NoNukes #NuclearPlants
Some Israeli actions ‘against international law’ – EU
“There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed,” Gallant told the Israeli media. “We are fighting human animals and we act accordingly.”
https://www.rt.com/news/584594-borrell-eu-israel-law-gaza/ 11 Oct 23
Denying Gaza water, food and electricity is not appropriate, Josep Borrell has said
Israel has the right to self-defense, but some of the decisions its government has made are contrary to international humanitarian law, EU foreign policy commissioner Josep Borrell said on Tuesday.
“Israel has the right to defend, but it has to be done in accord with international humanitarian law. And some decisions are contra this international law,” Borrell said in Oman, where he attended the joint meeting of foreign ministers from the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Both the EU and the GCC have condemned terrorist attacks by Hamas, Borrell noted, but also condemned any attacks on civilians, demanded the immediate release of all hostages, and called for Israel to respect international law and not block the delivery of food, water or electricity to the civilian population of Gaza.
The two blocs have also asked Israel to open “humanitarian corridors” from Gaza to Egypt, so that civilians can leave the territory ahead of Israeli reprisal airstrikes.
Borrell’s remarks appeared to be a reference to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s statement on Monday ordering a “complete siege” of Gaza.
“There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed,” Gallant told the Israeli media. “We are fighting human animals and we act accordingly.”
Multiple media outlets also quoted Gallant as saying on Tuesday that he had “lifted all the restraints” on Israeli rules of engagement against Gaza.
Israel launched reprisal airstrikes against the Palestinian territory after Hamas, which controls much of Gaza, sent commandos deep into Israeli territory on Saturday. The three days of heavy clashes have resulted in at least 900 dead Israelis and at least 830 dead Palestinians, according to the authorities in West Jerusalem and Gaza, respectively.
Just before Gallant announced the “siege,” the EU declared it would put €691 million ($728.8 million) in aid to the Palestinian Authority under review and suspend all pending payments, citing the “scale of terror and brutality against Israel and its people” by Hamas. Borrell later “clarified” those remarks to note that aid will continue, because suspending it would amount to “punishing all the Palestinian people” and damage EU interests in the region. #Israel
Court will hear appeal by environmental groups against Sizewell C nuclear power station
Sizewell C power station plans to be heard in court
https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/sizewell-c-power-station-plans-be-hear-court 9 Oct 23
THE future of the government’s Sizewell C nuclear power station will be decided at a hearing in the Court of Appeal next month, it was revealed today.
On November 1 and 2, judges will hear an appeal by campaign groups against a High Court rejection of a review of the decision by then business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng to allow the development on the Suffolk coast to go ahead.
The development is being opposed by campaign groups Together Against Sizewell C (TASC), Suffolk Coastal Friends of the Earth and Stop Sizewell C.
They said the station’s huge consumption of water for its cooling system will threaten local domestic supplies, and that the project should have included a desalination plant.
TASC launched an appeal for funds and said: “Because of the short time-frame that has been forced on us we have little time to raise the £25,000 needed to cover the costs of our legal team for this appeal stage of the proceedings.” #nuclear #antinuclear #NuclearFree #NoNukes #NuclearPlants
Boss of Sizewell nuclear project calls for “curbing protestors powers’ to block them in the courts
Nuclear plant developer calls for limits on legal challenges. The
government should seek to accelerate major projects by curbing protestors
powers’ to block them in the courts the boss of Sizewell C says.
Times (not on the web) 9th Oct 2023 #nuclear #antinuclear #NuclearFree #NoNukes #NuclearPlants
Judicial review will hear appeal against UK govt’s consent for Sizewell C nuclear
Together Against Sizewell C is delighted to announce that we now have the
date for our judicial review in the Court of Appeal, a two-day hearing has
been set for Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd November 2023.
This will give our legal team the opportunity to present TASC’s appeal against Justice
Holgate’s refusal in the High Court of our judicial review of then
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng’s decision to give development consent
to Sizewell C.
The unusually early date for the hearing is a result of
pressure from the government requesting the case be treated as a priority.
TASC continues to have the support of Suffolk Coastal Friends of the Earth
and Stop Sizewell C in this vitally important battle for the soul of the
Heritage Coast, however because of the short timeframe that has been forced
on us we have little time to raise the £25,000 needed to cover the costs
of our legal team for this appeal stage of the proceedings.
Crowd Justice 8th Oct 2023 #nuclear #antinuclear #Nuclearfree #NoNukes
https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/save-suffolks-heritage-coast-w/
Class action launched against British Government over nuclear bomb tests in Australia
By A Current Affair Staff 7 Oct 23 https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/nuclear-bomb-testing-australia-class-action-british-government/199eafe9-c774-432e-99b2-f71a96ffb696—
It’s a scandal that has spanned decades as Australian and British servicemen sent to nuclear testing sites fight to be officially recognised for their service and suffering.
Between 1952 and 1963, Great Britain carried out nuclear bomb tests in Australia and the Pacific.
Doug Brooks was at the first one.
“The only thing we were told to do was turn our backs to the blast ground zero, cover our eyes with our hands and the blast x-rayed our hands we could see the bones,” he told A Current Affair.
Tony Spruzen was at the Maralinga test range in the remote outback of South Australia.
“The brightness was so much, it’s something like I never experienced before, I could see through my eyelids, I could see the bones of my fingers,” he said.
Doug and Tony are two of the rapidly diminishing number of veterans sent to the nuclear test sites.
In total 45 tests were conducted by Britain’s Ministry of Defence – 12 of those were in Australia at the blessing of the Menzies government.
There were 22,000 servicemen in the Pacific tests. 1500 are still alive.
Now there is a new class action against the British Government.
“Well, what’s prompted it is that we’ve discovered medical records do in fact exist for these servicemen,” lawyer Matthew Jury said.
“We have a copy of these records and what that tells us is the other medical records exist which the government has been concealing for 70 years so those surviving servicemen who want answers now know that those records exist so where and the government has been concealing them.”
Jury’s firm has launched the action class and he claims records reveal the radiation levels in the blood and urine of the servicemen.
“As they have grown older they have developed extreme and aggressive forms of cancer,” Jury said.
“There have been miscarriages and other birth defects which can’t be treated by their doctors because their doctors don’t have their full medical records.”
The British Ministry of Defence hasn’t responded to requests for an interview or statement.
Watch the full story in the video player above. [on original]
Georgia Power will pay $413 million to settle lawsuit over nuclear reactor cost overruns
GPB, October 6, 2023 Associated Press #nuclear #antinuclear #nuclear-free #NoNukes
Georgia Power Co. will pay $413 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the utility of reneging on financial promises to one of its nuclear reactor partners.
The payments to Oglethorpe Power Corp., announced Friday, could hold down future bills for millions of electric cooperative customers in Georgia.
Oglethorpe sued Georgia Power in June 2022 in a contract dispute over who should pay for cost overruns for a third and fourth reactor at Plant Vogtle, southeast of Augusta.
Atlanta-based Southern Co., which owns Georgia Power, said it would write off a $152 million loss on the settlement.
Georgia Power also announced Friday that it must replace one of the four massive pumps that cools the Unit 4 reactor after operators found a problem with the pump’s motor during testing. Georgia Power said it believes the problem is an “isolated event” and has a spare pump on site, but said the replacement ends the company’s hope of placing Unit 4 in commercial operation this year. The utility said the reactor is still on schedule to begin operating by March.
That was already the company’s fallback date……………………………………………………………………………………………..
Currently, all the owners are projected to pay more than $31 billion in capital and financing costs, Associated Press calculations show. Add in $3.7 billion that original contractor Westinghouse paid to the Vogtle owners to quit building the reactors, and the total nears $35 billion.
Besides Oglethorpe and Georgia Power, Vogtle’s owners include the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and the city of Dalton. MEAG and Dalton also sued. Georgia Power agreed last year to pay up to $76 million to settle the lawsuit by MEAG, which provides power to 49 municipal utilities. The Dalton lawsuit is still pending, and Georgia Power said Friday that it could owe the city up to $17 million…………………………………………………………………………………………………. https://www.gpb.org/news/2023/10/06/georgia-power-will-pay-413-million-settle-lawsuit-over-nuclear-reactor-cost
1 This Month
petition to oppose the rapid increase of space-military industry threatening Jeju Island and the region.
[Petition by April 19th (KST)] Stop the joint military-Hanwha Systems-Jeju Provincial Government Sea Launch!
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
of the week–London Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Tell the Ukrainian Government to Drop Prosecution of Peace Activist Yurii Sheliazhenko
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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